Now that promise was being broken and I needed to know whose fucking teeth I was going to have to kick in.
Tone hummed, drawing my focus back to him. “I haven’t seen anything out of sorts, and you know I’ve been keeping a close eye on everything. I heard from a couple little birdies that Hollywood might try to show up tonight.”
My spine stiffened, forcing me upright. Rebel. One-third of the unit that had built the club from the ground up with my brother before betraying him. Betraying all of us.
I tossed the empty beer into the garbage next to me, possibly harder than I needed to given the sound of shattering glass. “He wouldn’t dare show his face here. Would he?”
Tone shrugged maintaining his air of serenity. “Maybe. Maybe not. Creed did call off the hunt a while ago. If Rebel knows, he might try to slide in at any point just to fuck with us again. But whatever his bitch ass is up to is none of your business.”
I drew my head back, pulse heating in a flash. “None of my business? The fuck is that supposed to mean?”
Tone finally turned his head to look at me, brown eyes endlessly patient. It made me more annoyed than if he had jumped right in my face. “Last time I checked, you hadn’t sworn any oaths to the club, my dude. Our concerns are ours alone. Unless you’re planning on earning yourself a spot.”
“Never.” I spat on the ground. “I’ve got love for my brother and you know that. But I’ll never be a part of that lifestyle.”
He nodded. “Then butt out and focus on what you should be focusing on. When are you gonna ask the question and stop dicking around?”
I blinked, the fight vanishing as quickly as it had come. This perceptive bastard. “Do I even want to know how you knew?”
He flashed that quick grin again, looking incredibly proud of himself. “Give me some credit. How long have we known each other now? Because I can’t seem to remember you ever having a nervous habit of patting your pockets before I saw you today.”
I laughed, not even bothering to be embarrassed. “Have I really been that obvious?” Then my amusement died and I glanced out onto the dance floor, taking in the woman I loved throwing herself around Caitlin and Lizzy like she didn’t have a care in the world. Even though I knew better. “You think she noticed?”
“Nah. She wouldn’t be avoiding you if she had. Women take that kind of shit mad serious. But I’ve got a tip for you. I’m talking a one of a kind spot of genius that will remain unparalleled from this day going forward.” He leaned in, bringing us closer together. “You ready to hear it?”
“Get it over with, smartass.”
“Re-attach your balls and get your girl, brother. It’s that simple.” His voice was even, his look somber. “Whatever you do, don’t let this shit fester. If there’s one thing I believe in, it’s that we shouldn’t go through our lives leaving anything unsaid. You never know when those chances for conversation will slip away. But you’ll damn sure miss them when they’re gone.”
With that, he clapped me on the shoulder and wandered off before I could ask where the hell all that philosophy had come from. I was sure it wasn’t just because he mediated several times a week and treated his body like a temple. I was also sure he wouldn’t answer me if I chased him down and asked about it.
Which left me with only one thing to do.
Put up or shut up.
I turned to the bartender, ready to request a shot of something strong as fuck but he had already beat me to the punch. The moment my hand hit the cool granite, a small glass of something clear slid into it. I glanced up at the man in surprise and he tapped his ears before going back to what he was doing.
After throwing back the liquid that burned the whole way down my throat, I set the glass down and headed towards the dance floor.
Kayla saw me coming from practically a mile away. I knew she had seen me because her eyes widened, and she scooted deeper into the huddle of women she was dancing with. Caitlin wrapped her up quickly, screeching at the top of her lungs with a sound that didn’t match any of the pitch or lyrics of the music thumping around us.
Grinning, I approached them and cleared my throat.
“Rainmaker!” Lizzy said, throwing me a bright smile and a wave. “Something we can help you with?”
“Yeah,” I said, eyes locked on the blue-haired vixen that was pretending she didn't notice me standing right across from her. Kayla’s eyes were on the floor, as if there was something incredibly interesting about the laminate wood that had been laid out. If I hadn’t already been tuned in to the fact that she was having some sort of crisis, that would’ve been a dead giveaway.
My Pixie didn’t back down from a goddamn thing.
So, what could possibly be bothering her so much that she wouldn’t even look at me?
Is she pregnant?
The thought froze my mind as it skated across, but I remembered to breathe a moment later. We had talked about having kids, but I knew she wanted a few more years of doing her own thing and working with Caitlin at the bar before we took that next step.
I was back at square one.
“We’re having fun,” Kayla said, plastering a smile on her face that was faker than the lanterns hanging from the strings above us. “I’ll find you in a bit, okay?”
Caitlin and Lizzy both blinked at her and the grin she was trying to maintain grew even more strained. My eyes narrowed and I took another step into their small circle. The two women on either side of me made room and I grinned wide when Kayla looked at them like they were traitors.
Then they fucked all the way off, which wasn’t necessary because I wasn’t going to do this with a crowd. That said, I appreciated it all the same.
Kayla’s head turned to follow their disappearance almost desperately before facing me again. She swallowed thickly. I watched the motion of her throat and couldn’t help but remember the way she had happily gulped me to the hilt this morning, tears in her eyes and all.
How had we gone from that to this awkward tension?
The two of us didn’t do awkward. We just did us. Always.
I leaned closer to her, hands going out to find anchor on her hip bones when she took a step back like she was thinking of fleeing. “You’re seriously trying to blow me off, Pixie? There’s no way you thought that would work.”
“It worked for a bit,” she said softly, looking everywhere but at me.
Using one hand to keep her in place, I captured her pointed chin with the other, forcing her to be still. Our breath mingled together as I lowered my mouth to hers and whatever else she was feeling, her body reacted to me. Eyes closing. Hands finding the steel planes of my chest and beginning to wander. A breathy sigh slipped past her lips, tinted with something fruity.
“You know what happens when I don’t get my way, don’t you?” My fingers trailed down the side of her jaw before fastening around her neck. I squeezed, loving the way her eyes flew open, pupils blown out wide. I was sure mine looked the same.
The chemistry between us was a high. There was no drug I would rather be addicted to than the one before me.
Kayla glanced from side to side, lips curling. Somehow, I held back my smile as I watched her scheme, that fight of hers making a comeback, little by little.
“You’re making a scene,” she said sweetly, eyes going wide in mock horror. “What if someone sees you manhandling me and has a problem with it?”
My grip on her neck tightened. Her breasts brushed against my chest and I felt my dick straining against my slacks, but I ignored it as much as I could.
“First off.” I flashed my teeth. “We’re surrounded by some of the scariest fucking people in several states. If you think any of them are gonna go green at the sight of a little roughhousing, you’re sadly mistaken. Secondly, on the off chance that any of them—and I mean any motherfucker who got the bright idea to interrupt—came over here, I would smash their ass into the floor, dance on their broken bones, and then hold you over my head like the trophy that you are.”
/> Kayla giggled, the sound carrying the delicious warmth of her body straight into mine. It caressed my skin like the finest fabric, wrapping me up securely. “For someone who tries so hard to stay out of anything involving the Sinners, you certainly end up sounding like them pretty often.”
I shrugged, brushing my lips across hers. Our noses touched and I breathed her in. “What can I say? Getting raised by wolves rubs off on a guy. Now stop delaying the inevitable and tell me what’s on your mind.” Her mouth opened and I put a finger over it, glancing around at the crowd. “Actually, hold that thought.”
Lacing our fingers together, I tugged her in behind me as I swerved through the tangle of people towards the outer edges of the dance floor. Once we were through, I kept walking.
Passing the table Creed and Tex were sitting at, heads bent together in conversation.
Passing the outer boundary of the lights blazing against the night sky.
We headed towards the woods, and only when we were hidden so deep in the shadows that there was just enough light to see each other by did I stop and throw her against a tree.
She yelped, back hitting the rough bark, then my mouth was on hers. Making her grateful for the pain that had brought her to this moment. Claiming her lips one rough swipe of my tongue at a time.
Kayla moaned into my mouth, hands sliding up my sides. Around my neck. Into my hair. I growled and snatched her wrists, pinning them above her head.
“You had your chance to tell me the easy way.” I bit off each word right in her face, watching her eyes dance between mine with a mix of something that was both eager and wary. But we had left behind the times where we were two individuals still learning each other’s bodies. When I undid my belt and tied her wrists her together, that bit of uncertainty was gobbled up by pure, blazing lust. “Now we do this my way, Pixie.”
Without giving her any warning, I flipped her around, shoving her front against the tree. I didn’t bother to put anything between her and the rough surface she was pressed against, and without the use of her wrists, she couldn’t maneuver away from it. Not to say she didn’t try.
Her hips wiggled against me and I looked down, watching her ass sway back and forth over my hard cock. She threw her weight back all at once, trying to catch me off guard, and I only laughed at her efforts.
“Damn you,” she hissed, trying it once more. The heat in her voice made my blood turn to magma, burning inside me until I was tugging at my tie. “Do you know how long I spent doing makeup? And this dress cost me a pretty fucking-”
I balled the tie up and reached around, forcing it into her mouth. Muffling her words. Silencing anything else she might’ve been planning to say.
Kayla went still and I planted my hands on her lower back, leaning over her so that I could place my lips right against the shell of her ear. I squeezed her flesh brutally, knowing it would hurt. She yelled loud enough that the cords in her neck stood out and her chest heaved afterwards, but it was barely audible.
“What was that?” I yanked her skirt up all at once, exposing her ass to the breeze. “I couldn’t quite hear you.”
Her struggles increased and I loved it. Loved the way goosebumps stole across her soft skin. Loved that she always fought me until the moment when she finally surrendered, giving in to what we both wanted.
I smacked her across the ass once, hard enough to feel my palm burn. Hard enough to see her entire body jolt with the blow. And yet the moan she released was all pleasure.
My hand swept between her legs, brushing against her hot slit. My jaw clamped tight at the feel of her, even as I pressed against her heat.
A muffled curse reached me, and she bucked her hips. Restless. Needy.
Desperate for what only I could give.
I dipped my head, planting wet kisses along the base of her neck while I worked towards her shoulder. I bit down on the soft meat there at the same time I pushed her panties to the side and slid a finger into her entrance.
She was wet and ready for it, but the second one caught her by surprise. Her back arched, body strung tight as a bow. I reached my thumb around, teasing her clit, and she whimpered, moving her hips like she was calling any of the shots.
I don’t think so.
Burying my nose in her air, I added another finger to the first two. This time, I felt her stretch around me, body struggling to adapt to what I was doing to it. I made tiny circles, forcing them deeper.
“Tell me what’s wrong,” I said, voice filled with threat that made the darkness encroach on us from all sides. “Or I’m adding a fourth. If you’ve remembered what a bad idea it is to keep things from me, now’s the time to nod your head, Pixie.”
I waited a moment, watching her decide. Her pussy spasmed around my fingers, but otherwise, she was still. My lips curled in a wordless snarl. “Not good enough. Time’s up.”
She started to turn and glance at me over her shoulder.
“Face the front,” I barked, spreading my fingers. She did as ordered with a soft noise that made me ache to shove myself inside her. “And don’t you dare move.”
I withdrew my fingers, then stepped back from her completely, leaving her to shiver without my warmth blanketing her. I could just make out pink, glistening folds and my mouth watered. “You leave me no choice, Pixie. I guess this is what it comes to…”
Chapter 16 - Kayla
Blood rushing in my ears, I waited for Rain to force his way inside my body on a hot, ruthless glide. Instead of fearing the pain that would come along with it, I was breathless with anticipation. Despite how still I was trying to hold myself, my ass wiggled from side to side, giving away just how badly I wanted this.
We had played these games before. I knew exactly how rough he would be. And I wanted it.
Needed it.
Craved it.
Rain was the oasis in the desert I needed to take my mind off the exhausting thoughts that had been spinning around since I looked at Lizzy in her beautiful dress.
I had no business being down in the dumps over something so trivial. None at all. That was why I couldn’t tell him. That, and because I knew not telling would result in exactly what was happening.
I had known that from the moment he carved a fissure across the dance floor, headed straight towards me. Grey eyes full and heavy with promises of pleasure and pain.
Chest heaving, I waited for his long fingers to sink into the flesh at my waist.
Waited for the blunt head of his cock to force me open.
Waited for the man I loved to take me in the way I so desperately needed.
Except he kept me waiting.
Slowly, my body cooled, and I started to feel just a little bit silly with my ass half exposed.
Did he leave? I strained my ears, trying to hear something. Anything. His breathing. The sound of leaves and branches being stepped on. The soothing note of his voice. But there was only the wind and the distant sound of the party raging along without us.
Brows pinched, I used my bound hands to pull his tie from my mouth and dropped it. I smoothed my dress back into place with purposefully slow movements, waiting to hear the whip of his voice lash against me for disobeying.
Nothing came.
Stomach clenching, I turned around, so scared of what I might see that it left me that much more unprepared for the sight before me.
Oh my God.
I thought I would scream for real and clapped a hand over my mouth. But when I tried to form words, the only thing I managed was a small, high pitched squeak that would’ve sounded more appropriate coming from a chihuahua than it did a fully-grown woman.
But oh my God I didn’t know how to react.
Rain was still there. Very much so. But he wasn’t gracing me with one of his signature, imposing looks.
In part, because it was hard to look very threatening when you were down on one knee in the dirt, hands extended.
I was sure my eyes were going to bug out of my head as I took in the velvet box before
moving my stare to the man holding it up.
“Is this happening?”
Did I say that? It didn’t sound like my voice, but his lips hadn’t moved and there was no one else out here. At least I hoped there wasn’t.
I wasn’t surrounded by prudes or anything, but it was going to be a little bit weird to explain to someone what they were seeing. One second he was on the verge of fucking me against a tree until I had splinters, and in the next, he was proposing.
Proposing!
My heart thudded with such force I could’ve been in a marching band. Would that get me into a Guinness world record? Or maybe my own carnival show? Behold, this blue-haired chick with a freaky heartbeat. Come one. Come all. Be amazed.
Oh my God, I was losing my mind.
Rain watched me steadily, as if he was content to stay there the entire night or at least until I got my shit together enough to avoid fainting.
He had never looked more handsome than he did in that moment, and I knew this would be a memory I would look back on in ten, twenty, thirty years, and still smile the soft smile I offered him as my hand dropped away from my mouth.
His tie was on the ground somewhere behind me and the top button of his shirt was undone, leaving fair skin exposed and begging to be traced. Eyes like thunderclouds showered me in love, and every strike of lightning within them was another declaration for all to see and hear. His lips curved slightly, and a sense of forever spread out before me, so full of possibilities that I didn’t have a chance in hell at counting them all.
Nor did I need to.
Why count them now when I could live each of those moments with this man one at a time?
I shook my head, taking a trembling step forward. Stopping close enough to reach out. As if on cue, he popped the lid open. The jewelry immediately caught the light, the black stone inside the ring sparkling with utter brilliance. But it took me a moment to make out the band.
When I finally understood what I was looking at, the wave of tears I thought I had unleashed during the ceremony rose up again, washing over me in a happy tide that pushed my doubts out to sea and drowned them.
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